Washington (AFP) – Jonathan Taylor ran 32 times for 244 yards and three touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime, to spark the NFL-best Indianapolis Colts over Atlanta 31-25 on Sunday. At the Berlin Olympic Stadium where American track legend Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics, Taylor delivered an epic rushing performance.
“My teammates, my coaches, they trust me,” Taylor said. “At the end of the day, it comes down to displaying that on the field every Sunday and we did it all together today.” Taylor had the top game rushing total of any NFL running back this year to reach a league-best 1,139 run yards this season. Taylor made the longest run of the NFL season with an 83-yard touchdown carry in the fourth quarter, rushing down the left sideline after being stopped up the middle to give the Colts a 22-17 lead.
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“You really train for things like that, plays messed up from the beginning, but being able to still be efficient, just being able to get back to the line of scrimmage and once you get back make things happen.” The Falcons answered with a Tyler Allegeier one-yard touchdown run and Michael Penix pass to Drake London for a two-point conversion, but Michael Badgley’s 44-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining sent the game into overtime deadlocked 25-25, setting up Taylor’s eight-yard touchdown run for the victory.
“Once we came into this game and saw how it was going, we understood the assignment — we’re just going to have to finish this game, we’re going to have to be dominant on the ground and we fought to the very end,” Taylor said. Taylor broke the Colts record with a 66th career rushing touchdown. “The guys we had in this organization, they’re legends, but the stories around the building are they came into work every day, put their hardhat on,” Taylor said. “To now be named among those guys is something very special and I will hold it near to my heart.”
Asked what his season yardage goal was, Taylor replied, “Whatever gets us to a Super Bowl.” The Colts bounced back from last week’s loss at Pittsburgh and improved to 8-2, matching the NFL’s best record with Denver, which edged Las Vegas 10-7 on Thursday. Also improving to 8-2 were the New England Patriots, who defeated host Tampa Bay 28-23 to stretch their win streak to seven games.
Drake Maye threw for 270 yards and two touchdown passes, including the longest Patriots play in four seasons on a 72-yard touchdown toss to Kyle Williams, and TreVeyon Henderson ran for 147 yards and touchdowns of 55 and 69 yards. Falling back in the AFC East race behind New England were the Buffalo Bills (6-3), who lost 30-13 at Miami. The Dolphins got two touchdown passes from Tua Tagoviloa and 174 rushing yards and two touchdowns by De’Von Achane.
Caleb Williams threw for one touchdown and ran for another in the last four minutes to rally Chicago for a 24-20 home victory over the New York Giants. Houston’s Davis Mills threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and ran 14 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 31 seconds remaining in a 36-29 victory over visiting Jacksonville. Lamar Jackson threw for 176 yards and a touchdown to spark Baltimore’s 27-19 victory at Minnesota. Tyler Shough threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns to lead New Orleans over host Carolina 17-7 while the New York Jets beat visiting Cleveland 27-20.
– NFL mourns Tagliabue – The league mourned Sunday’s death of former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue at age 84. Tagliabue replaced Pete Rozelle as commissioner in 1989 and served until September 2006, when he was replaced by current commissioner Roger Goodell. “All of us in the NFL are deeply saddened by the passing of Paul Tagliabue, whose principled leadership and vision put the NFL on the path to unparalleled success,” Goodell said. “Throughout his decades-long leadership on behalf of the NFL, first as outside counsel and then during a powerful 17-year tenure as commissioner, Paul served with integrity, passion and an unwavering conviction to do what was best for the league.”
© 2024 AFP
